All About Video Poker

Video Poker is an interesting combination of a card game, and slots-like action. You can use it to get familiar with the basic hand rankings of Poker when you’re a beginner, or you can enjoy it in its own right. Either way, of course, if you’re playing online in Ireland, you should be doing it at the sites we recommend! Learn more about how to play and win below.

Video Poker History

Roulette, Blackjack and slots are all hundreds of years old, but Video Poker was only introduced in the late 1970s. Developers took advantage of the new Video capabilities of computers’ central processing units, and the brightly coloured, animated game was born.

Although originally the only variation was Jacks or Better, soon many more arose including All American, Tens or Better, Aces and Faces, Aces and Eights, Double Bonus, Joker Poker, and dozens of other options.

In 1990 when casinos went online Video Poker was one of the first games to be adapted to this format. The simple graphics and gameplay worked especially well, and it proved to be just as much of a hit as it had always been on land.

Basics for Beginners

Whichever version you are playing, the objective and structure is always the same. You need to try to build the best 5-card hand that you can, according to standard hand rankings. To start with, you place a bet of between 1 and 5 coins.

You will then be dealt a hand of 5 cards, all of which will appear at once. This is similar to the pace of a slot machine, and is also totally based on chance. Once the cards appear on the screen, the strategy portion of the round begins.

You can choose which cards you want to keep, and which you want to replace with new cards from the same deck. You need to consider the odds of getting dealt different cards that will improve your hand, and need to remember the basics of hand rankings in the first place.

The similarities with the traditional format are clear, but one key difference is that in Video Poker, you only get to make one move. You can exchange as many or as few cards as you would like to, but you have to do it all at the same time.

There is no Pre-Flop, Flop or River as there is when you play the table game; you can’t watch to see what happens and then decide what to do accordingly. This makes the feel of the 2 games quite different from each other.

Once your final cards are in place, the round is over. Your payout is calculated according to what is in your hand, and how much you wagered in the first place. You can play again immediately, and multi-hand versions allow you to play 5, 10, 20 or more games at the same time for extra entertainment and payout possibilities.

Using Strategy Charts

For every variation of online Video Poker there is a strategy chart that shows you exactly which cards to keep and which to replace, for every possible hand that you might be dealt. These maximise your chances of winning, and will help you get familiar with the hand rankings even faster.

After you’ve used the strategy charts for a while, you will find that you know exactly what to do without needing to consult them at all. If you’re keen to start this process off for yourself online in Ireland, you can do it at one of our top-rated casinos right now! Choose the one that suits you best, and start playing and winning.